Cheap mid-engined marvels | Six of the Best
For new Golf GTI money, some great mid-engined sports cars are available - here's what we unearthed...
Porsche Cayman S (981), 2014, 60k, £34,990
A roundup like this wouldn’t be complete without a Porsche Cayman of some description. You might call it predictable, but there’s a reason why it’s become the default mid-engined sports car of choice since 2005. For showing off the very best bits of the layout - sublime handling, great traction, surprising practicality - without the scary part of being mid-engined, the Cayman has become a true cake-and-eat-it sports car. With, for the most part, a lovely flat-six cherry on top. The 2.7 and 2.9-litre non-S cars were fine, but could never really do the chassis justice. A Cayman S is where it’s at; you’ll still pay for the privilege all these years later, but the looming battery-powered model will do values of the classics no harm at all. This 2014 car is smartly specced, for sale at a Porsche specialist, and comes with a full dealer history. A very smart place for £35k. MB
Audi R8, 2007, 41k, £38,491
If a Porsche Cayman is just a little too smart and sensible to spend this sort of money on, how about a bonafide junior supercar? That the original Audi R8 is hot hatch affordable is no longer newsworthy, what’s notable is that good ones still exist at less than £40k. As Audi is wholly committed to an electric future, this silhouette gets better looking by the day, and the joy offered by a great engine and gearbox combination will never, ever wane. Audi’s mid-engined, V8 sports car hit the bullseye with the first throw, being fast, beautifully designed, and fantastic to drive. More than 15 years later you’ll have to be circumspect in your search - and avoid the R Tronic like seafood left in the sun. But decent ones are there for the price of a Cayman with more miles. This one has some snazzy options and presents well. You’ll kick yourself when the £40k ones are gone… MB
Vauxhall VX220 Turbo, 2005, 55k, £19,950
Probably the Vauxhall VX220 hasn’t been compared with an Audi R8 before, but both are superb mid-engined sports cars that remain affordable, surely, because of their respective badges. Those at the R8 level might still be swayed by a Porsche crest, and the Lotus roundel holds an undeniable allure for those after a lightweight, mid-engined marvel. But the VX shared so much with the Series 2 Elise that it would be daft to overlook it, especially with equally sharp styling and the mighty performance of the Turbo flagship. It might not shriek to 8,000rpm like the 2ZZ-engined Elise, but good luck finding one of those in such nice condition for £20k. There’s a lot to be said for torque away from the track, too. This particular ‘220 benefits from uprated dampers, a reasonably recent cambelt and an average mileage tally of just 3,000 a year. The perfect mid-engined sports car for early mornings and late evenings this summer. MB
Toyota MR2, 1991, 33k, £10,990
One of the very best-looking mid-engine Japanese sports cars? I think so, at least if you’re on a sensible budget that excludes an NSX. I always think there’s a whiff of Pininfarina about the SW20 MR2, even though it was conceived nowhere near Turin or by anyone Italian. It was designed in Japan, by a man called Uchida-san. There’s an edginess to the early ones, but if you can find a later Rev-2 from 1993 – with longer rear toe links, different anti-roll bars and wider tyres – they were much less frenetic at the back end. This isn’t one of those, though. Just be careful and you’ll be fine. Probably. What this is, is a lovely example of an underused car. It’s covered only 33,000 miles in 32 years and the bodywork and interior are both looking fine. It’s a manual as well, which means you can make the most of that zingy, 158hp Toyota 2.0-litre twin-cam. Apparently, it also has ‘stacks of service history’ and, above all, it’s an unmodified car. For me, it represents £11,000 very well spent. JH
Lotus Esprit, 1986, 52k, £24,995
I know the advert mentions it, but I am not going to say a dickybird about secret agents or submarines. All I am intending on talking about is the car itself, because there’s plenty to say about the Lotus Esprit. For a start, there’s its very handsome Giugiaro design, which was still looking as fresh when this Series 3 car arrived as it did when the original Esprit was launched in 1976. Not quite as clean, perhaps, but still a car that was able to turn heads. There is a big advantage to having a Series 3, too: you’re not precluded from Esprit ownership by dint of being tall. Those early cars were a real squeeze, you see, whereas the last of the wedge-shaped models came with a modified interior that released more headroom and more space in the footwells. The last naturally aspirated cars were popping out 170hp (215hp for the Turbos) but this early S3 makes do with 160hp from its 2.2 Type 912 motor. That’s enough for a car weighing just over 1,000kg. This one appears to be a tidy example in a good spec and has clocked up a relatively low 55,000 miles. Okay, that's not mega-low mileage, but these Esprits are surprisingly good long-distance GT cars and it’s good to see one that's had some use. JH
MG F, 1997, 21k, £6,995
Some of you will chortle at this one, but this MG F is here for several reasons. Firstly, it’s not dear, which helps this list to be inclusive and offer something for all budgets. And this really is a budget car at £6,995, but not some raggedy old dog, either. That brings me to reason number two: it’s an absolute minter. It’s only done 21,000 miles, and from what I can tell all of those miles were clocked up in the garage it’s been housed with the car on stands – sort of reverse Bueller, if you catch my drift. It appears to be cleaner than a surgeon’s scalpel (pre-slice) and too clean to have been actually driven anywhere on a public road. On top of that, it’s a one-owner car that with a full service history. Come on, even the doubters must be coming round to this now? The third and final reason it’s here is it’s in the best spec. If I say think of a British sports car, you’re thinking of something in British Racing Green. Well, that’s the colour this is, albeit Rover’s metallic interpretation of BRG from the time. The black half-leather and black hood set that off a treat, too. Quite frankly, if you moan about this you are never allowed to say anything about us featuring expensive cars ever again. I you really have taken umbrage to it, just stare at all those other lovely cars in the background.
Really, if you want an actually cheap mid-engined sports car nowadays it’s MGF/TF, mk3 MR2, maybe a rough but serviceable mk1 Boxster and I guess a Smart Roadster, unless prices for those have gone mad while I wasn’t looking.
I feel you could get Fiat X/19s for basically no money not that long ago, but doubt you still can.
t is trotted out. Oddly, everyone you ask that actually has one says they are bloody fantastic with the exception of a clunky first to second change up at low speed (which you learn to throttle-off and neutralise it within the first day if ownership). Only people with the hate seem to be Moto journos and supercar experience day drivers.Yes I have one, and yes, I always post when this same old rubbish is wheeled out, again and again. You will miss some real bargains if you ignore the Rtronic. This one is £38k for a coupe V8 2007 420bhp with over 40k miles. I paid £45k for a 2010 V10 spyder with 22k miles 569bhp . Just mind blowing to drive and the gearbox is bloody marvelous :-) confirmation bias? Of course.
Porker looks like the bargain of the bunch.
Anything even vaguely interesting or desirable with the supposed "modern/future classic" potential tag are still at insane asking prices compared to what you could get for your money pre-covid.
Very strange.
Well spotted - what a bodge !!And 7K for an MG seems bonkers to me
FFS - every fAnyway back to the list, which I think is a good list. The MG would not be for me but that’s just personal taste whereas the rest I’d happily take given the chance.
Anyway back to the list, which I think is a good list. The MG would not be for me but that’s just personal taste whereas the rest I’d happily take given the chance.
It does appear that there are lot more dealers pretending to be private sellers and I think that has a lot to do with it. An old car that would have gone straight from private buyer to private buyer now has a middle man/woman/non binary involved who whacks a couple of grand on the price after giving the car a wash and brush up.
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